


Link Meet Link

by Cur



Series: I’m Bullying Wild RIP [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Amnesia, F/M, FOUND FAMILY LETS GOOOO, Memory Loss, trauma recover, wild is mute!!, wild is sad, wild meeting the links :p cant get enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:21:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24474934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cur/pseuds/Cur
Summary: Wild deals with his memory loss and fight with Calamity on his own — but a year after the defeat of the Calamity, he finds himself meeting eight others with his same name.
Relationships: Zelda/Link
Series: I’m Bullying Wild RIP [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767601
Comments: 25
Kudos: 248





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i have. no words. none

His eyes wander the blue skies aimlessly for an idle moment, but they quickly dart towards the movement within the trees. The young princess bursts out, excitement lit up in her expression. That’s never good. Link apprehensively raises his eyebrows as she struggles to stand over him. She huffs out, proving her exhaustion from running or whatever stupidly dangerous activity she had engaged in. He says nothing, and instead stares expectantly at her. She’s quick to oblige: “I found you! Good.” She sits next to him and lets out another breath, and her face is quite clearly flushed. She’d likely been running then, perhaps even tripping over the many branches and rocks that roughened the path. “I found another Goddess statue. Perhaps I just need to prove my loyalty beyond Hyrule.” Link stares at her silently still, trying to take her in. “Link, I think that I—“ She begins to fade.

The memory finishes just like that, and the young hero gasps out as if struck by its completion. The water in front of him glimmers with the sun reflection, just as it had before, but when he looks towards the forest—expectantly still—no girl emerges. How could she, after all? She was trapped within the castle, fighting for her life and everyone else’s, and waiting for him as he rests idly. Link mentally chides himself and quickly stands, gathering his gear back up and turning back to his horse. Considering his journey ahead, perhaps he ought to start up the mountain and allow Epona to wander back to town or to merely rest by the surprisingly peaceful river. The rare calmness without sounds of cuckoos or citizens is so strange to him, so foreign, that he’s rather agitated by it. Maybe he’s even... _ sad. _ His heart feels heavy, and it brings him back to the words of his dreams: “what’s heavier: the world, or your heart?” It seemed like a twisted riddle upon his eyes reopening, but now it seems like a taunting whisper that echoes through his mind as memories come and go. Link feels a faint need to cry, to break down and to feel every speck of stress and pain he was in, but the strength of his eternal hero thing luckily proves stronger. Besides, he had a mountain to climb: there would be plenty of opportunities to cry about the sores in his palms blistering and bursting soon.

It sucks, but he manages his way up and walks along the outskirts of the tallest points to avoid certain foes. He’s so keen (yet anxious) on getting to his location that he doubts he’s prepared to fight off yet another army of lizardos, or bobokins, or whatever the fuck jumped out at him for the fun of it. Perhaps tonight would be another Blood Moon so that his dead foes could pop back up utterly desperate to get revenge. On the bright side, at least he’d hear Zelda’s voice again, but he isn’t sure how much more he can take of not seeing or touching her. She seems just out of reach, and every memory that startles back to him feels almost cruel. Being without her and being more and more aware of her leaves an empty and cold feeling with him, and no matter how far up he climbs, he can’t escape it. It’s no real comfort that he was so distant from her when they were together and younger either. Now, he wants to bury his face into her shoulder, to breathe her in, and to cling onto her and pretend that she’ll never go.

There’s that wave of pain again. He stops his walking and lets it ripple through him, but no tears form. The sobs that had prepared themselves instead pierce his chest further, and the ache of missing her grows almost unbearable. He needs to rest, and he needs to stop thinking so much of her. If Link plans to save her, he needs to focus. There’s only so much more waiting she can do. It had already been a hundred years, and with all of the times his body collapsed by fires or into beds, the number felt like it was loudly increasing. She strains even more every day, and yet he wastes time doing silly things when Zelda could be safe and near him again. If memory serves (which it might not), she smells so much like warm strawberries with a bit of grass and outdoors brushed through her hair and stained on her clothes. When he had cooked some by the stables, Link had felt a sharp pang in his chest and his mind simply expected to see her because of the familiar scent. 

Sometimes when he sees frogs he stops entirely and sits down, pondering the memory of her. Sometimes he sees a woman with blonde hair and stares too long. Sometimes he stared up at the night sky, wondering how many times they had looked up together, their hands mere inches away from each other. All of the time, however, he thinks of her. He thinks of her when he pierces enemies with his blade or whacks them with a bat. He thinks of her when he achieves a spirit stone. He thinks of her when he wakes up and when he falls asleep.

Perhaps these feelings expand beyond guilt, regret, and worry. Perhaps it was more than his grief. Perhaps it was the very thing so many citizens sighed about. No...No, he  _ definitely _ loves her. He’s no hero; Link had staggered before the Guardians with pain roaring through his body and ripping apart his nerves because he  _ loved  _ her— his strength and his courage came from that. Maybe it always had. He thinks of her lying in the grass with her eyes towards the night sky, her face slightly pink from the cold. Then, he had offered his coat (more like began to take it off), but she dismissed him with a quiet laugh. He had been watching her the whole time, but thereafter, Zelda rolled to her side, her elbow propped up, and her head resting on her palm so that she could look down on him. Link had predictably said nothing and stayed still and stoic (as a knight does), but no amount of training could prevent the warmth from meeting his cheeks. That was love.

Impa had applauded his haste in reviving his fellow champions, but one task still remained — achieving the sword that sealed the darkness. Only then, with it handy, could he hope to defeat the Calamity. This would be their final opportunity to oppose him, and, thus, he couldn’t fail. Not again.

After heeding rumors from those within stables and cities, he finds himself at the entrance of Hyrule’s Great Forest. Judging by the pang in his chest, he remembers it well — mist and all. Link picks up the nearby torch that rests against a lit fire, and promptly lights it. The embers rise and strangely defy the direction of the wind. When he glances in the direction of where the embers fly to, he can faintly see a flame awaiting him. Link adheres to this strategy and eventually the mist fades into nothing, and he hears sounds of joy.

_ Link. _

Zelda.

She staggers past him, her white gown torn and dirtied. More apparently, she has blood stains on her cheek and chest — and he gets a sinking feeling it’s of his own. His sword drags on the ground as she makes her way forward, as if it were too heavy — or perhaps she had grown weak. Zelda nearly drops, and instinct demands he rushes forward to help her, but it’s a memory and he  _ knows  _ it. As he follows slowly behind, she converses with the Great Deku Tree and requests he watches over the sword — Link can feel that the tree had watched over it before. Eventually, the sword returns to its slot, and Zelda disappears.

“Great hero,” the tree muses. “So you have returned for your blade. Go on. Pull it free.” Link hesitates. “You’re right. It won’t be so simple. It will sap you of your strength as a challenge — and I don’t know if you have enough to bear it.”

Link’s eyebrows knit into a frown. That doesn’t matter. The risk isn’t important. He needs the sword to save Zelda.

He steps up to it and puts both hands on the hilt. When he pulls, as promised, pain shoots through his body, and he grunts in response. However, that doesn’t cause him to falter or sway from his task. Warm sweat dripping down his forehead, he spreads his legs and presses his feet into the ground and determinedly pulls harder. The sword moves up a little bit more, flushing the Hyrulian’s heart with much too overeager hope. Another wave of pain shocks through him, and he can’t help to make more noises of pain. His consciousness begins to slip, and his grip weakens. He’s not strong enough.

Just as his body begins to sway, his hands tighten around the hilt again.  _ No.  _ He  _ would  _ be strong enough. He had to be.  _ For Zelda. _

With a final guttural cry, the sword rises from the ground and he raises it to the sky. Strength flows with him, and the blade glows with power. It feels right in his hand, and he can’t help but to huff out with relief.

“I sense it,” the Deku tree muses. “You are stronger now than you were before. You are ready to save the princess. Now go, hero. Her power is saping. She needs you.”

Link nods determinedly in response.  _ I won’t fail _ , he signs, just as he had to Impa before last departing. He pulls out his Sheikah Slate and feels his body being lifted by its technology, and the forest around him fades away.

_ Link. _

Just as his feet land on top of Central Tower, he hears her voice. It sounds relieved and the most joyous he’s heard in a century.

_ Link, you’ve achieved so much. With the power of the Champions and the Master Sword, you are now ready! I await your help within Hyrule Castle. Be cautious. The Calamity still has control of the Guardians — but you are prepared. You are at your full power— and your blade at its true splendor. Now, go! _

Her voice fades, and he narrows his eyes in certainty to himself. He draws out the Master Sword, of which continues to glow with power. The Guardians would not kill him again. Link  _ would  _ make it to Ganon, and perish his malice from his realm. The history of failures that leak in his dreams would evaporate with his certain victory.  _ For Zelda. _

Link leaps off of the tower, his eyes set on Hyrule Castle. The golden light within the grounds seemed to grow brighter upon his gaze.

  
  
  


A year passes.

  
  


His body flies through the air in a backwards motion just as a blade slices through the space of which he had just stood. Link lands on his feet and lunges forward at spectacular speed and fiercely attacks as many times as he can through his enemy’s confusion. This causes the Lynel to skid back a few yards, and Link holds up the Hyrulian shield in time to block the inevitable roar of fire. They were tricky foes, but they all had the same pattern. The blond kneels down and summons Revali’s gift before his body flies up into the air and he avoids another lunge from the Lynel. Link draws his bow and fires shock arrows furiously, but he can barely see the Lynel have a reaction. He lands harshly onto the ground just as a shock arrow of his foe’s own whizzes over his head. There’s barely enough time to hold up his shield as it attacks harshly again and runs past him. As it recovers, he slashes at the fiend repeatedly, satisfied to hear its grunts of pain. Just as it turns, Link snaps his fingers and summons Urbosa — and thus, killing the creature entirely.

Sweet.

He collects his prizes: a nice new bow, a new weapon, and plenty of meat and hooves. Those will sell at a nice price or at least form a nice elixir.

Hyrule had been relatively peaceful. Blood Moons somehow still occurred to limit the full serenity, but the hero of the wild was always there to protect his citizens. Thankfully, it only happened about once a month, which made things a lot easier. It helped that Zelda often was tranquilizing the guardians and taking out entire enemies with her powers.

For the most part anyway, fighting came as a stress reliever. Link loves Zelda, of course, but she’s quite the politician. Even asking to keep politics away from mealtimes scarcely worked. He can’t blame her: she  _ is  _ the last living Hyrulian royal, and there is much to be fixed within the land. Link doesn’t mind being her messenger  _ too  _ much; he gets to visit old friends and make sure all is well with the Divine Beasts and the strange civilians nearby.

Link takes out his Sheikah Slate; he had been in the Akkala area for a few days by himself: mostly defeating monsters, but partially enjoying Tarrey Town. Despite being a Champion and hero and all of that, helping build little Tarrey Town felt like one of his biggest accomplishments. Considering how desolate Hyrule often felt, building a new civilization and bringing people together… well, it felt  _ nice.  _ It  _ feels  _ nice. Considering how his life had been preparing for battles (and it doesn’t seem like it was about to stop), reminding what the world is outside of fighting is nothing short of refreshing. Sometimes he leaves Zelda for weeks at a time to tether himself to that. She may be able to be queen mode all of the time, but he isn’t overly keen on being on knight mode again. Not after all he’s accomplished and become in his “new life”.

Unfortunately, of those accomplishments, having all of his memories back isn’t one of them. Zelda tells him about his family and his life, but it feels like he’s learning about a stranger. The feelings are there, but they’re so detached he hardly feels a claim to them.

_ Hm.  _ Maybe he’ll need a while longer before he goes back. Zelda hadn’t spoken of traveling anyway, so she  _ should  _ be staying at Zora’s Domain for a while. There are plenty of Zoras able to protect her there. Right? That feels wrong. Link’s duty is to protect her, and he wants to slack off to pity himself? Some knight.

Link hits his head gently against the slate. Ugh.

_ Okay _ , he thinks.  _ I’ll visit Zora’s Domain to make sure things are running smoothly and then I’ll go from there.  _ Good plan. ...and yet, he hesitates. Maybe he’ll stop by the East Akkala Stable first, just to make sure Robbie’s not causing trouble for anyone.

And thus, he departs, a shaky plan intact.

Rudi greets him with a wave, to which he returns. “Hey there, big hero. No Zelda today?” Link shakes his head simply. “Then I take it you’re killing off monsters, huh? You got some blood on you. Maybe you oughta go bathe in the lake before you rest.”

Again, he shakes his head. ‘No rest,’ he signs. ‘Just visiting.’ Rudi’s eyebrows knit together (in worry, unfortunately), but he bobs his head in acknowledgement. ‘How is everything?’

“Not too shabby,” the stable owner muses. “Had a group of brothers visit earlier, asking about Calamity.”

‘How big?’

“Eight o’ ‘em, I think. Acted real strange, so Hoz and Nobo over there fed ‘em some information then got ‘em to leave. Think they headed to meet Robbie.”

Link frowns.  _ Robbie?  _ No one visits the old man but him and Zelda. ‘Why’s that?’

Rudi shrugs. “You’d have to ask those pigheads Hoz and Nobo. I was tryin’ to spread false information. Think they’re some Yigas.”

‘My thoughts exactly. Thank you.’ Rudi bows his head in response, and the hero of the wild turns on his heel and faces a pacing Nobo. ‘What’d you do?’

Nobo throws up his hands in frustration. “I didn’t know they could be bad guys! I was just tryna be helpful!” Link narrows his eyes. “I told ‘em some weirdo lives in the lighthouse and that he was here when the Calamity hit. ‘hat’s all.”

_ Strange _ . Why would anyone be curious about the Calamity — especially a year after he defeated it? The Yiga would probably be more obnoxious… this is simply a mystery he’ll have to solve the hard way. Link changes into his stealth clothes and takes out the Master Cycle Zero and heads up towards Robbie’s Lab.

  
  
  
  


“Ugh!”

Legend dramatically drops to the ground, clutching his chest. “If I have to walk another fucking step in this  _ hellscape _ , I’m honest to Goddess just burning everything down.”

Four kicks him. “We’re almost at the lighthouse. Stop being a baby.”

As if verifying that he was being a baby, Legend groans louder. “Just leave him,” Warriors remarks. “Hopefully he’ll get eaten by one of those metal thingys. Watch ‘em all come to life. Sounds like our kind of luck, right?”

“Let them kill me,” Legend moans. “I’m starving, but if I have to eat Sky’s cooking again—“

“Hylia,  _ can  _ we leave him?” Sky wonders through thinly veiled irritation. 

Time rolls his eye, but makes no effort to encourage either argument. Sky’s cooking is the best of all of them, and that isn’t exactly saying much. It beat eating raw meat, but… did it? “Hopefully this old man will give us some answers. We’ll find out what happened to this land and maybe even finally find the hero.”

“I’m gonna beat the shit out of this hero,” Legend grumbles as he begrudgingly gets up. “Purely because he’s making me fucking walk so much. I’d  _ much  _ rather fight Ganon than walk around this big ass Hyrule again.”

Four hits him again.

“Well,  _ I  _ like it here,” Wind protests. Legend’s like 90% sure he’s just saying that to be spiteful. “It’s gorgeous, and the people seem really happy that this Calm-ity is gone.”

“Calamity,” Time corrects.

“Whatever.”

They stand in front of the house and, ever the leader, Time knocks at the door. There’s a loud crash in response, so he takes it as a reason to open the door after drawing his sword. Naturally, the rest follow in suit.

“ _ You’re insufferable! _ ”

A screwdriver flies across the room and hits the metal object in the middle. It seems to groan. A small man screams and hides behind it. “Cherry!” He wails.

The much younger woman to the left of the room scowls. “What about  _ me? _ ” Her eyes flicker over to the pack of Links and she flinches pretty violently. “Oh!”

The boys put away their blades and watch as the little man comes out from hiding behind the strange object. “Oh, Cherry,” he moans. His eyes go to the Links and for a moment he doesn’t react. His brain seems to process them and he promptly jumps. “Who the heck are those guys?” He demands the woman. “Are you having  _ multiple  _ affairs?” The man hesitates. “That’s mildly impressive, dear.”

“Actually,” Time interrupts sheepishly. “We were just here because we had some questions and were told you have answers. You’re Robbie, right?”

“I hate it here,” Legend mutters underneath his breath. Four nods in agreement.

“Oh!” Robbie strikes a pose and Time swears to Hylia he hears music come with it. “That’s  _ me.  _ I am indeed  **_ROBBIE_ ** **!** ” He strikes another pose. Wind claps politely.

A small pause follows until Time clears his throat awkwardly. “G-great. I’m Time, that’s Twilight, Four, Wind, Legend, Sky, Hyrule, and Warriors.” Robbie frowns. “They’re nicknames. Anyway… We were wondering what you could tell us about Calamity.”

Robbie sighs pretty dramatically. “You Hyrulians and your obsession with the Calamity. Link vanquished it! What’s more to know?”

Right. Most people in this Hyrule knew all about Calamity. “All of it,” Legend takes over flatly. “You seem like you know how to tell a good story.”

Time glowers at Legend, but it seems the move paid off. Robbie poses once more, and then begins to tell the adventurers about the Calamity and its downfall.

  
  
  


Link skids to a stop by both hitting the breaks and putting his foot against the grass. He hops off the Master Cycle Zero and heads up the stairs outside of the Lab. Sneaking in is probably best, considering he’s allegedly outnumbered eight to one. Once he reaches the upstairs entrance, he slowly opens the door and changes into his Sheikah stealth suit. Considering the civilians in the lab, he can’t risk messing this up. He steps in cautiously and closes the door behind him before creeping down the steps until he can barely see the events occurring downstairs.

Drawing his new Lynel bow with three arrows equipped, he aims it at the eight at the entrance. He won’t attack yet — his curiosity’s blazing (plus he isn’t about to strike them down considering the possibility of them being innocent civilians).

Robbie’s going on and on and on about Calamity's downfall. The eight seem amused by it, somehow, which raises Link’s suspicion even more.  _ Everyone  _ knew about the Calamity. At the very least, it was a creepy bedtime story to scare kids to stay inside of villages and stables.

It doesn’t make sense for it to be Yiga. It went outside their usual routine, and it causes much too big of a stink for them to bother doing. There seemed to be no real motive behind any of this beyond genuine curiosity.

The story wraps up, and the group seems to mull over the tale. Link lowers the bow some and sits up. Unfortunately, the step beneath him creaks through the silence.  _ Shit.  _

Eyes flash in his direction just as he scoots back up so he’s out of sight. Hopefully they’re innocent, stupid civilians. He isn’t in the mood for another fight. That doesn’t stop the sounds of blades being drawn and a “what the hell was that?” being shouted. Link changes into his blue tunic and dark hood — he gets the feeling he’s in for a fight  _ anyway.  _ He pulls out his royal guard’s blade and stays put, breath hitching.

_ Here we go. _


	2. Burns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link remains on edge. The group heads to Tarrey Town after a startling confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! i completed botw like three times so i stopped playing. quarantine brought me riiight back to the game, so i got some muse! this is of course wild centric, but i neglected hyrule so hard this is relatively focused on him too. i'll try to divide up the links, but i know some of them best -- like wild, obviously.

Link cups his hands and dips into the river before bringing them back up to his lips to sip out of the water. He pulls off his hood and the fresh air hits his face and cools off the warm sweat. The taste of water had done little to fight against the sand taste against his tongue, and, if anything, replaced it only with mud. “It’s a shame to leave Gerudo Town so soon,” Zelda remarks disdainfully. She’s on his left, mocking his actions, but with a much more expressive face. “I suppose, being a man, you wouldn’t understand its beauty. Urbosa would let you in if it weren’t such a strict tradition -- she likes you… for whatever reason. In fact, she told me to speak to you more, but you don’t speak very much do you? Always such the perfect little knight. You’re my age, you know! You don’t have to be so…” Her outburst is short lived, and she appears to recoil with regret. “I’m sorry. I suppose it’s frustrating to me that you’re… you.” Zelda tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and averts her gaze towards the lake. “Hyrule depends on you, and yet, I know nothing about you. _I_ depend on you.”

As per usual, he says nothing. Still, he turns his head to look at her, his face flat and eyes vacant of emotions. She takes a quick, fleeting glance at him, but upon noticing the lack of impact her words have had, she sighs and looks right back down. He wonders why she even bothers.

Wordlessly, he rises and turns to their supplies to fetch flint and wood. Unsurprisingly, he can feel her eyes on him as he starts the campfire and begins to prepare dinner. It takes some restraint (and as a trained knight, he has plenty of it) to not look up at her. “Link.” He continues to work at the fish. “Mipha tells me stories of when you were younger. You used to have so much energy… so much _life._ What happened? What changed?” He puts the fish into the pot alongside some cut up herbs. “Please. Tell me. I cannot bear to speak through these camps with you silently there. Can we not become allies? _Friends_?”

* * *

He doesn’t trust easily, especially not on the friendship level. Perhaps that’s why he stands up slowly, backing up towards the door. This is a fight he can win, but not when the eight are all on edge… well, not with civilians present. He’ll have to approach them outside of the lighthouse -- but how can he draw them out? Perhaps they’ll respond to a bomb. He’ll plant it then take the high ground and --

Goddess, maybe they _are_ innocent. They cause no reason for him to be this suspicious, yet… he can’t help it. Defeating the Calamity had done little to ease Link’s stress. It felt as though the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something _worse._ Monsters still rose from the ground at night, Guardians still attacked ruthlessly, and the Blood Moon came again and again. Perhaps it’s a sign of how worthless his efforts are. No matter how desperately he fights to prove himself, he’ll be the failing hero of Hyrule for eternity. A lifetime and a half prepared him to fight at full strength and awareness, yet he feels incredibly limited.

* * *

“It’s a creaky staircase,” Robbie dismisses. “Now, how about the rest of my story?”

“Save it,” Warriors says. “Stay put. Four, check it out.” Four nods in acknowledgement and heads up the staircase. His eyes glint with surprise. “What is it?”

“It’s… nothing?”

Time frowns and opens his mouth to call bull, but Twilight surges forward and checks the stairs behind Four. “The door’s open. Let’s check outside.” Without any arguments, the clan of Links head outside and search the area. There’s a strange technology right at the front, but as soon Hyrule touches it out of curiosity, it disappears into a blue light.

“Magic?” Wind wonders.

“Worry about it later. Think this is an attack or our guy?” Sky glances up at the top of the lighthouse and points. “There!” A blue light drops and a circular shape drops on the ground. _Bomb._ Goddess, this guy is wild. In a hasty movement, Time picks up the bomb and throws it away from them, and it explodes in the air. Unfortunately, Hyrule winds up caught in it and goes flying forward into the ground clutching his ears. When they all look up, the figure is gone.

Sky drops by Hyrule and gingerly puts a hand on his back as the smaller withers with a groan. “He’s alright,” Sky reassures. “Go after him. We’ll catch up.”

The remainder of the group glanced at Time for approval, but the leader had already put away his sword. “Let’s not bother. We’ll go back to the stable and stay there… but I have a feeling this Robbie might know where we can find this Link without the need for a fight or manic search.” He nods towards Legend. “C’mon. Let’s go ask. The rest of you start heading over to the stable and ask around there. We’ll meet up and plan from there.”

* * *

  
  


Tarrey Town is as lively as usual, and Link graciously comes to a stop and opens the door to the inn. Kapson greets him with a weary bow (of sorts). “Good evening, Link. Are you in need of a rest and a meal?” Link presses a hand into his bleeding side and nods his head ‘yes’. “You look worse for wear, if you don’t mind my saying. Allow me to patch up your wounds.” Too tired to sign, he simply waves off the other and heads up the stairs. Admittedly, he stumbles a little, but he manages to sit on the bed and pull off his shirt. Unsurprisingly, Kapson arrives at his side, holding his bag of medicine and bandages. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you wounded, hero. A few men and boys came looking for you just yesterday. They didn’t seem to have much malicious intent, but did they do this to you?” Link shakes his head ‘no’. “I see. These are burns… Did a Guardian catch you by surprise? That scarcely happens.” He nods and groans in pain as a wet cloth pushes against his tender skin. The Zora apologizes softly. “Have you met that group of Hylians yet? They explained that they wished to meet you and ask for your help. I hate to wonder what they’d need the Champion of Hyrule’s help for.” He stares at the other expectantly, but the hero only manages a short shrug. “I suppose it’s useless to ask so much of you in this state. I’ll wake you come noon, and prepare you some meat, hm? Now get some rest.” The bandages intact, Link obliges and slumps into the comfortable cushion, and reality melts away.

Unfortunately, sleeping warrants dreams.

Green mist fills the area that surrounds him, but a glow of power draws him through it all. As he emerges through a clearing, he notices a limp body with a full head of red hair. As if compelled, he walks towards it, and as he does, the glow becomes green and twisted. Link’s hand reaches out, and the head snaps towards him, the jaw slacking. Fear strikes his heart and he reaches for his sword and shield, but comes up empty handed. The glow forms into a hand and grabs into Link’s arm. Pain shoots through him, burning and white-hot, and he involuntarily cries out as whispers flood into his ears. His entire arm seems to be drained of all life and ability, but the mist tenses even more so around it and sharply pulls him forward. A pit forms at his toes. Paralyzed, he watches helplessly as the power yanks him forward and he falls into nothingness.

* * *

  
  


“We’re here!”

Tarrey Town, Robbie calls it, is this realm’s Link’s pride and joy. Apparently, amidst his quest in defeating the Calamity, he had stopped to build a new town from the ground up. It’s fairly impressive, but otherwise strange. What could motivate a hero to stray from his path when the world had been left in ruins? Time counters that the fact that the world was in ruins makes for a great case as to why one would want to build another civilization.

Nonetheless, within their new day, the group had all recovered and arrived in a surprisingly peaceful and energetic town. They had been there just the day before, but knowing its importance raised its glory to the group. “This _is_ pretty nice,” Hyrule muses. “I’m gonna check it out. We barely had time to last time. We just ate and bullied a Zora into answering a few questions.”

“We have a mission,” Time reminds him rather gently. “Ask about the hero while you’re at it. Why don’t you bring Wind with you? The rest of us will stock up on supplies.”

Hyrule and Wind head inside the first building with moon signs outside of it -- the inn -- and beam up at Kapson. The Zora had been almost outrageously kind to them the other day, what with the free meal and beds. “Hello again,” Wind greets enthusiastically. “Any word on Link, sir?”

Kapson smiles wryly. “I’m afraid I am unable to say.”

“So that’s a yes,” Hyrule concludes. Unsurprisingly, there’s no reply. “Where is he now? Did he say?” Nervously, Kapson’s eyes flicker up at the second floor. “He’s here?”

Anxious now, the Zora shushes Hyrule. “Hush now, he’s resting. He had quite the wound before arriving. Now, why don’t you all relax and explore town? I’m sure he’ll come out when he--”

A startled gasp comes from the beds, making them all jump. Shit. He saw them. Hyrule turns around and holds up his hands in defense. “Don’t throw another bomb at us.” But Link isn’t staring at him. In fact, he isn’t in Hyrule’s line of vision. Oh. A nightmare. That explains the drop in stealth. “...We’ll go,” he decides. “Just outside. We’ll talk to him then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO MUCH BUILD UP IM SORRY. its so freakin early/late and if i didnt finish this chapter now i never would have. kudos and comments are encouraged! pls be gentle doe im fragile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I figured the actual introductions and initial conversations are tired, so I decided to write a quick ending for this. It leads into the isolated hero as well as another work I have planned. Thanks for reading!

“I’m sorry.”

Zelda’s head raises, her eyebrows arched in surprise. “Sorry?” she repeats, her voice sore. “No,  _ I’m  _ sorry. I don’t… I didn’t mean to push you.” There’s a certain hope in her voice, as if she’s counting on him to dismiss the apology and allow for her pushing to succeed. Who is he to say no to her? Yes, it’s his sole purpose to protect her, but maybe he could trust her too -- like Daruk implied. In many ways, Daruk resembles more of a father figure than his actual dad ever did.

Still, he can’t help but to hesitate. All of his life had been training to hold back his emotions and focus on openings in his opponent’s stance. It’s been fighting and preparing to be the hero of time and the best knight at an absurdly young age, but Zelda’s  _ not  _ his foe. Clearly, she seemed keen on them being friends. There’s nothing wrong with having a friend, is there? Certainly not the princess of Hyrule.

He absently pokes the fire with a tree branch and sighs. “I don’t know what it is you want me to say,” he admits softly. “I try to bite my tongue where I can. There’s a lot of… expectations for me. I don’t want to say the wrong thing. It’s better to be the perfect knight. Stay quiet and follow orders.”

Zelda’s eyes are dark, and he almost thinks she’s rendered silent with pity. “I understand,” she responds finally. A smile slowly forms on her face. “I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak, minus the signing. You don’t always have to lament, but I do enjoy speaking with you Link. Perhaps we can talk about something more lighthearted.” Warmth spreads up his face, and his heart hammers a little. She moves a little closer to him. “Tomorrow we will depart for Rito Village, and make our way to Goron City thereafter. I’d love to know what you think of the Champions. They  _ certainly  _ have an opinion of you -- of  _ us. _ ” Her face lights up. “Not-- not like a relationship, but in terms of how we- we collaborate! Oh, I--” The memory burns away as Link laughs softly at her, his hand covering his mouth as he does.

The fire snaps as one of the pieces of wood collapses and begins to disintegrate. Link’s knees are brought up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs. Luckily, most of the others are asleep, and thus his untold amnesia remains a secret. Only Hyrule is awake, and he seems rather concentrated on his surroundings. He had been the first of the group Link had met, but he hadn’t exactly bonded with anyone. Sky had cooked dinner and as they all choked down the meal (Link thought it tasted fine), the group descended into stories. They had been nice enough not to ask anything from him, but definitely implied that he could have jumped in at any time. He didn’t.

Truthfully, he’s just trying to make sense of it all. They’re all different versions of himself -- rather, the ‘hero spirit’ from different timelines. Well, technically he’s dubbed Wild now, by both the departed monks and this new group of friends. Considering everyone’s real name is Link, it made sense. According to Zelda, his parents had purposely named him after the last hero. She went on to observe that it seemed like him becoming the hero never felt like destiny, but instead tailor made in desperation by his father. Wild couldn’t disagree.

Judging by everyone else’s stories, they were a lot more chosen than he was. Twilight had been a mere farm boy before Ganon struck his Hyrule, and 18 when he saved everyone with the help of his friends. Wild’s not keen on revealing he trained his entire life and still failed, nor does he want to slip in the fact that he was borderline dead for 100 years. Things had already been overwhelming enough for one day by his showing up. Maybe if he could really trust these guys like he trusted Zelda, then…

“Not tired?”

Wild raises his head from his knees and finds Time standing above him. Despite the fact that he had clearly been aged by some wounds and, well, time, he appears sympathetic and soft. Wild shakes his head to confirm the statement, then gestures at Time. “I’m not either,” he responds. “I’m usually happy to be in the woods, especially with beautiful trees such as these, but…” There’s a distant gleam in his eye, and he can practically feel the other’s heart become sore.

“You miss someone,” Wild guesses. His voice is barely audible, but Time seems to hear it. He nods miserably. “Who?”

Time half-smiles, and he refocuses on the younger beneath him. Cautiously, almost, he drops down next to Wild. As he does, he holds onto his side, as if cradling an old wound. “My wife. I haven’t disclosed much to the others, but you don’t seem loose lipped.” His eyebrows arch. “You don’t seem to like to talk at all.”

“Not…” Wild clears his throat and winces. “Not used it. Usually I…” He finishes through signing: ‘do this. I don’t talk to many people, though.’ Much to his surprise, Time’s face isn’t completely blank. The old man’s pretty good at pitiful expressions. ‘You understand?’

“Well enough. If that’s how you prefer to talk--”

“I prefer not.” He clears his raspy throat again. “...to talk. Okay?”

A tense silence falls between them, making Wild wince. ‘Sorry,” he signs. Time studies him carefully, as if deciding if it was worth pressing further. Apparently not; he stands up, a hand resting on the smaller’s shoulder.

“Get some rest, kid. Hylia knows what awaits us tomorrow.”

Part of him is tempted to further the conversation and bonding, but he’s gotten used to biting his tongue. Still, as the other departs for his sleeping bag, Wild can’t help but to feel a rush of nostalgia -- he just isn’t sure what for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, kudos and comments are appreciated and encouraged! you can follow me on tumblr @seajacksons for updates on upcoming pieces and some art! thanks again for following this work :)


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